Trump Signals New Deal with Mexico; Ebrard Denies Asian Product Transshipment

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on August 21 that his administration is already working on a new trade agreement with Mexico, 'a much better deal for the United States,' according to El Financiero. The announcement comes ahead of the next review round of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), scheduled for the first week of September.

The reference to a new agreement comes after the U.S. administration decided not to extend the USMCA for a full 16-year period, opening the treaty to annual reviews through 2036. Washington is using that process to renegotiate the terms of regional trade and address its deficit with Mexico, on issues including rules of origin, steel, aluminum, and the automotive sector, all of which carry a significant energy component in their inputs and costs. In parallel, the United States and Canada are accelerating talks to prevent 50% tariffs on Canadian goods from taking effect. Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard responded the same day that Mexico is 'close to substantive agreements' and rejected claims that Mexican exports are merely rerouted Asian products, according to El Universal.

At InnovaFest Querétaro 2026, Ebrard argued that the United States imports Chinese goods at 3.8 times the rate Mexico does, and that cases of Chinese merchandise transshipment account for less than 1% of Mexico's total foreign trade. 'I get the impression that argument surfaces every time we enter the more consequential phases of negotiations,' he said, referring to U.S. accusations. Among the issues raised with Washington, he cited Section 232 measures on steel and aluminum and those applied to the automotive sector. The third bilateral Mexico-United States round concluded in July with progress on rules of origin, steel, and economic security.

The content of any eventual agreement between the United States and Canada will define the framework Mexico seeks to replicate, according to Ebrard, who said he must first know its terms. In parallel, Mexico's legal team is preparing arguments to prevent the preliminary ruling on tariffs on Mexican strawberries from becoming final.

This article was drafted with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.